Worlds Toughest Job (they ain’t kiddin)

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cardstore.

Folks, I cringe to think back on this true story now. I literally criiiiiiinge. But I’m going to nut up and tell you anyway. Don’t hate me for it. I knew not what I said.

Back before Forrest was born, when we were living in Iowa while Jeff was in chiropractic school, we somehow ended up as the unofficial neighborhood babysitters for all of our school friends who wanted to get out for a date on the weekends (because what else does a young couple have to do in Iowa on a Friday night, really, besides watching another couple’s kids?).

On one such wild Friday night, we showed up to babysit a friend’s 2-year old daughter and found that Mom had left us an unbelievably extensive set of instructions for the evening. Typed instructions. They listed everything from approved dinner foods to an incredibly detailed bedtime routine, including such tidbits as a bunny song to sing as we hopped her up the stairs to her bedroom, a specific scripture verse to read her after we laid her down, and which song (even how many verses of the song) we should sing to her in bed. It remains, to this day, one of the most impressive and meticulous child care manuals I have ever seen. (And don’t tell my friend, but I skipped about 90% of that bedtime routine. I think the 10% I followed was “put child in pajamas” and “lay child in bed.” #rebel )

Here’s the part that makes me cringe: I actually said, out loud, to Jeff (not in a malicious or mean-spirited way, but absolutely matter of fact) that as a stay-at-home mom, our friend probably hadn’t had anything else to do that day and must have enjoyed typing that guide up as a way to pass the time.

Guys. Guys. I’m dying here. I truly thought she was bored silly. I seriously thought before having children and becoming a stay-at-home mom myself that they must have so much free time on their hands, so little to do, so few demands in their lives, that they woke up each day thinking to themselves, “Well gosh, what should I do today? Maybe I’ll use up a few hours typing up an instructional babysitting guide! Bingo! Thank goodness I thought of something, anything, to while away the hours!”

*criiiiiiinge*

Boy have I learned my lesson. Being a mom is rarely, if ever, boring.

I’m sure you’ve seen the World’s Toughest Job video by now, right? If not, please do watch it. So fantastic. I laughed and cried, truly. (How long can I blame my out of control emotions on pregnancy and postpartum? 4th trimester 4eva, baby!) In case you haven’t seen it yet, American Greetings created a job posting based on everything moms do under the title ‘Director of Operations’ and posted it all over the web and newspaper listings. They ended up with only 24 inquiries on the job (the applicants, of course, did not realize they were applying to be mothers), and you’ll love the applicants’ reactions during their job interviews in the video.

It got me thinking about some of the toughest parts of motherhood for me (which just happen to be attached to some of the biggest mothering rewards). In no particular order:
- Time. It requires so much time. In almost 4 years, I still have not quite adjusted to spending the majority of my time on someone other than myself, and I’m starting to doubt I’ll ever really get used to it. (Buuut, all that time creates so much love and such a sweet bond and friendship with these little stinkers. I know I’ll never, ever, eeeveeeer regret the time I’ve spent on and with them.)
- Sleep. Or rather, not enough of it. I still miss sleeping in on the weekends, the lazy mornings spent reading in bed, staying up late and knowing it doesn’t matter because you can sleep as long as you need the next day. (Buuut, seeing those precious faces in the morning is a pretty decent wake-up call. And peeking in at them when they are sleeping? Pure bliss. I swear they transform into cherubs the second they go to sleep.)
- Putting many of my own goals and dreams aside to make room for the kids. There are things I could be doing and things I could have right now if it weren’t for the kids. (Buuut, I doubt there’s anything else I could be doing right now that would be more important to me than focusing on these two little boogers. And though it’s sometimes tough to think of the things we could have and do if the kids weren’t in the picture, I would never ever wish them away, and, cheesy as it sounds, they are my new goal and dream—the biggest and most important I’ll ever have.)

So, to give back to the amazing moms in our lives who hold the title of World’s Toughest Job, Cardstore is encouraging you to take the extra step to celebrate mom this year . . . and one great way to do it is by creating a personalized card just for her.

I love how the card I made for my mama came out, and I know I might be slightly biased, but I think it may just be the cutest Mother’s Day card of all time, thanks to the adorable children gracing it. Just look at those stinkers!

And to take a few worries off your plate, here’s a nice little morsel of convenience for you: after you personalize your card (complete with your own message and signature), Cardstore will print, stamp, and mail it straight to mom for you!

Head on over to Cardstore.com and use coupon code CCF4249 (valid until May 5) to make a Mother’s Day card for just $2.49!

Is there anything you think American Greetings left out of their World’s Toughest Job listing? Head over and let them know what you think they should add!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cardstore.